


Lost in the Smoke

by HanguangMoon



Series: MDZS/Star Wars Fusion AU [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù
Genre: Alternate Universe - Star Wars Fusion, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2020-01-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:07:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22189897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HanguangMoon/pseuds/HanguangMoon
Summary: The Wen ships had descended under the cover of darkness, and now the Cloud Recesses are on fire. In the thick smoke, all Lan Xichen can see are lights of different colors – the green flash of blasters, the blue glow of his kinsmen’s sabers, the orange flare of flame.
Relationships: Lan Qiren & Lan Xichen
Series: MDZS/Star Wars Fusion AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1604047
Comments: 8
Kudos: 26





	Lost in the Smoke

**Author's Note:**

> Somebody on Twitter said that Star Wars was just cultivation in space.  
> I said, "Damn. I mean, that's cool af, but it's not like I'm going to write anything..."
> 
> I am currently eating my words.

The Wen ships had descended under the cover of darkness, and now the Cloud Recesses are on fire. In the thick smoke, all Lan Xichen can see are lights of different colors – the green flash of blasters, the blue glow of his kinsmen’s sabers, the orange flare of flame.

There is a fallen blaster on the ground, and Lan Xichen picks it up, holding it out in front of himself, just as his uncle had trained him. He does not have his own saber yet – he would have had one today, he would have become a Knight of the Jedi Order today, but the ships had come that morning-

_Wangji. Uncle. Father. I have to find them, I have to-_

The disciple quarters are already burning. The half of the temple has been devoured by flame. In the confusion, Lan Xichen can hear a cry, “The Library Pavilion!” – and he cannot tell whether it is a call to action by the enemy, or a call to defense by his own people.

Someone in Imperial Wen Sect robes barrels at him from out of the smoke, and Lan Xichen spins out of the way, a red bolt grazing his arm. He does not feel much pain.

He shoots at the enemy. The green glow is sharp – the cut more so. Something goes flying- An _arm_ \- A scream-

He acts on instinct and shoots again – a gaping hole through the enemy’s chest.

Breathing hard, Lan Xichen draws back, the body falling to the ground at his feet. He feels sick, but pushes the feeling down, trying to remember how his younger brother manages to control himself at all times. _Wangji_ -

He turns, disoriented in the all-enveloping smoke. He must get to high ground, see all-

When a hand descends on his shoulder, Lan Xichen whirls, blaster out-

Lan Qiren deflects the green blast with his own saber, and blue sparks fly. “Pay more attention to your surroundings,” he scolds, but it sounds more like a sigh of relief. In the cold light, Lan Xichen can clearly see the blood at the corner of his mouth, the soot smeared across his usually impeccable uncle’s cheek, and the spray of what must be someone else’s blood across the front of his robes that are no longer white, but gray.

“Uncle!” Lan Xichen exclaims, lowering his blaster. “You’re alright! Thank goodness… What about Wangji? And Father?”

Lan Qiren’s expression hardens. “…Come with me.”

Lan Xichen hesitates.

“ _Quickly_!” Lan Qiren grabs him by the wrist and _drags_ him forward by his uninjured arm.

Lan Xichen feels like a child who has stumbled in on a holo-play he does not understand. Everything he knows is being destroyed. The Wen Empire had left them alone for so long, was this because of the Games earlier this year, where Lan Wangji and that foreign disciple Wei Wuxian had excelled at the expense of the Second Prince? Was there something else behind this? _Where is Wangji? Where is Father?_

Shapes appear in the smoke – the sides of buildings? Trees? Stairs loom in front of them, and in the dim light, Lan Xichen can’t tell whether these are the steps leading up to the temple, the Library Pavilion, or the launch pad.

Suddenly, out of the smoke, two Wen Sect warriors fly straight at them. But before Lan Xichen can even move his blaster – the enemy are thrown back by a blast of his uncle’s spiritual energy.

The sickening crack as they hit the stairs is entirely ignored by Lan Qiren as he drags his nephew past the bodies and up the stairs, further and further-

Lan Xichen finds his voice again. “Uncle, where are we going?”

Lan Qiren does not look back. “Questions later. Move now,” he says, and his voice is hoarse with exhaustion.

_Wangji and Father must be alright. They must be. Father was Sect Leader! He’s very strong! And Wangji is the most promising trainee of our generation! Uncle wouldn’t let anything happen to him…_

Lan Qiren glances behind, past Lan Xichen, and lets out a wordless growl that would have been a curse in any other man’s mouth. Lan Xichen glances back, also, but he can see nothing but smoke and the flickering lights of flame and fighting.

“Uncle, what is wrong?” Lan Xichen almost stumbles as they reach the top of the steps – and reach the landing pad, where the smoke is blown mostly away by the high mountain winds. The sides of ships and pods reflect the fires below. From up here, Lan Xichen can see the whole of the Cloud Recesses.

“He’s sent his son,” Lan Qiren snarls. “Wen Xu is here. I can feel it in the Force.”

Lan Xichen’s eyes widen. “The Crown Prince is here?”

“He senses me, as well. He is coming.” Lan Qiren reaches into his sleeves as he speaks. “…I have sealed your spiritual energy entirely – no-one will be able to sense you.” He takes a thick memory disk on a cord and hangs it around Lan Xichen’s neck, tucking it inside his robes. “These are all the texts of the Library Pavilion, and more.”

“We had backups?” Lan Xichen gasps. “I thought-”

Lan Qiren gives him a flat look. “Of _course_ we have backups,” he says. “We preserve the old ways here. This is preservation.” His eyebrows furrow and he looks impossibly sad for a moment. “You must do everything I say, Xichen. Promise me this.”

“I promise,” Lan Xichen says quickly.

Lan Qiren looks even more pained as he takes out another item from his sleeve.

“That’s… That’s Father’s saber!” Lan Xichen chokes, and his eyes widen, burning with smoke, but also with tears. “Is Father-”

Lan Qiren affixes the saber to Lan Xichen’s belt silently, but then says, “It is yours now. He ordered it to be so. He… Still lives.” Lan Xichen can tell the unspoken addition is, ‘ _Not for long_.’

“And- And Wangji?”

“His leg is broken, but I have hidden him well. They will not touch him. His goal is not to exterminate us, but to subjugate us. We will bend for now, but not break. Never break. We will rebuild, and when we are strong enough, we will resist,” Lan Qiren says. He looks up into Lan Xichen’s eyes and grips his shoulders. “Xichen, you must obey me now. I will send you offplanet – far away from here. A distant outpost where no-one will think to look. Do not come back until I tell you to – do you understand? You will lead us when the time comes – I cannot let you fall into the Empire’s hands.”

“And Wangji?” Lan Xichen demands. _Can you let_ him _fall into their hands?_

“His affinity for the light is incomparable to anyone I have seen before,” Lan Qiren says. “No dark force could ever affect him. Not like me. Or you. Or your father. Unlike anyone.” What is left unspoken is the Balance that must always preside over the Force. What incomparable dark power balances out Lan Wangji?

“I-” Lan Xichen fights back tears. “I can’t leave like this! Uncle, let me fight – I swear I will-”

Lan Qiren’s grip on his shoulders tightens, and then he reaches up to cup Lan Xichen’s sooty cheek. “Huan-er, I vowed to lead the Sect and protect you. Protect you both. Allow me to keep this vow,” he says, and shuts his eyes for a moment, holding back some brief emotion. "The Force be with you."

Then his eyes snap open again, and his jaw tightens.

“…Go. Wen Xu is coming.”

“But he’s-”

The corner of Lan Qiren’s mouth turns bitterly up in something that could have been a smile, once. “He is one-tenth the warrior his father is. Do not worry about me. If I cannot hold off this boy, I have _truly_ let myself go.”

There is a dark figure striding up the steps, visible through the smoke. There is the thrumming buzz of a saber being released, and there is a pillar of red fire in the figure’s hand.

Even from this far away, with all of his spiritual energy sealed, Lan Xichen feels the powerful, oppressive heat of Wen Xu’s aura. _So_ this _is a Sith Lord…_

“Go! _Now_!” Lan Qiren roars, and throws out his hand, palm out – forcing the door of a small escape pod to open, and throwing Lan Xichen into it with a blast of energy.

Lan Xichen flies back, into the pod, and the pressure door hisses shut, just as his back hits the floor. Suddenly, the world is silent. Too silent. His landing is not as hard and painful as it should have been – and he leaps up, pressing his palm to the porthole and tries to see through…

He can see his uncle, standing proud and tall, alone on the landing pad, the wind whipping at his hair and robes. He sees the cold blue light of his uncle’s saber. Lan Qiren does not turn back, but somehow, Lan Xichen thinks he hears his uncle beside him, saying, ‘ _Do your duty, Huan-er, as I do mine._ ’

He can see the dark figure of Wen Xu reaching the top of the steps.

The pod judders-

Lan Xichen is thrown from the window, and falls painfully back. As the pod gathers speed, rising through the smoke, he drags himself over to the seat, and straps himself in before he falls entirely unconscious.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> (I may add more, but no promises.)


End file.
